Prepare Life Span Perspective of Human Development Paper

Life Span Perspective of Human Development
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Introduction
Human growth and development is a concept that encompasses a process that begins at conception. Development takes place in a cephalocaudal process which means it starts from head to toes. Human growth is studied under developmental psychology which studies how people grow and changes over the course of the lifetime. In the study of human development, the debate rages between researchers on the contribution of genetics versus the input of the environment. The nature versus nurture debate is the most prominent issue in the field of developmental psychology. Another important issue is the early experience verses later experience. Moreover, the researchers are also torn between continuity versus discontinuity. Whereas various theorists have explored the field of human development, renowned human development theories fall under three categories namely cognitive theories, psychoanalytical theory, and behavioral theory. This paper summarizes behavioral theory and the leading theorist's Albert bandura's contribution, psychoanalysis, and Sigmund Freud’s contribution and cognitive theory and highlights Jean Piaget's contribution as the chief scientists. The paper finalizes by analyzing lifespan perspective in development.
Psychoanalytic theory is anchored on the belief that emotion plays a significant role in development. That the unconscious mind control development and all matters related to development function at the unconscious mind. One of the leading proponents of the theory is Sigmund Freud. Freud, who was a neurologist, developed the theory after working with his patients. He posits that crisis resolving mechanisms at five stages determine human development (Sigelman, & Rider, 2014). The five stages of psychosexual development are namely. Oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. These steps determine adult personality. However, post-Freudian psychoanalytic theorists believe that Freud’s view on sexual instinct was exaggerated. They, in turn, put more emphasis on cultural experiences as a factor in individual's development.
The second theory is a cognitive theory. Standout theorists in this category are Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. The theory emphasizes on cognitive ability as the primary factor in human development. Activities like thinking, reasoning, language and other cognitive process are believed to affect human development. Jean Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory is the most prominent theory in this category (Sigelman, & Rider, 2014). It states that children’s construct their understanding of the surrounding and the world through a process of organization and adoption. Human beings organize observation and experiences in a meaningful way to derive sense from them. At the same time, human being adapts their thinking to accept new ideas and experiences. The theory proposes three stages which are distinct in reasoning. The steps include sensorimotor stage, preoperati...